


testing, testing (you and i might just be the best thing)

by jjubugi (swelter)



Category: NU'EST
Genre: M/M, Parks and Rec AU, ben!minhyun, idk anything about local gov this is just based of off the show, leslie!baekho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 06:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19126555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swelter/pseuds/jjubugi
Summary: all dongho's ever wanted to do was build a park.so when the opportunity finally arose in his fifth year working in the local parks and recreation department of his county, he’d taken it on with a kind of gusto with which he’d never attempted anything before. but of course, as things would play out, the hurdles along the way were countless.and one such hurdle came in the form of a very naggy, very sarcastic, very pedantic, very handsome state auditor named hwang minhyun.





	testing, testing (you and i might just be the best thing)

**Author's Note:**

> this is essentially leslie knope!baekho and ben wyatt!minhyun bc why not . really ~sparse~ bc i initially wanted to write something longer for this au but this happened, so. also i haven't written fic in a hot minute and i didn't really proofread so please excuse any errors sdnjksjgn

all dongho's ever wanted to do was build a park.

 

like other children, he’d had unrealistic dreams like being a superhero or traversing through space, but the one aspiration he’d always held onto was to build a park in the little town he grew up in. it was to be a place where friends and family could come together for barbecues on the weekends, where children could play and run free, where he could live out his long-harboured wannabe skateboarder dreams. questions of how and when mattered very little to him -- what was important was that he was determined enough to do it someday.

 

so when the opportunity finally arose in his fifth year working in the local parks and recreation department of his county, he’d taken it on with a kind of gusto with which he’d never attempted anything before. but of course, as things would play out, the hurdles along the way were countless.

 

and one such hurdle came in the form of a very naggy, very sarcastic, very pedantic, ~~very handsome~~ state auditor named hwang minhyun.

 

“i don’t get why you hate him so much,” aaron shrugs, looking over at dongho through the reflection in the grimy bathroom mirror. he leans in to inspect his own face, grimacing at the apparent scratch just under his chin. “he’s just, like, chill, you know?”

 

no doubt, dongho surmises, that the scratch had come from an unlucky encounter with aaron’s current romantic conquest minki’s cat. he leans against one of the stall doors, his arms crossed against his chest. he’d much rather talk about aaron and minki’s developing relationship, gory details and all, rather than spend another second thinking about freaking hwang minhyun. but aaron’s statement hangs in the air, waiting to be acknowledged, and dongho sighs.

 

“you’d say that,” dongho sulks, “i saw you two drink together out at the bar the other day. looking all chummy and stuff.”

 

“come on, it’s not like that,” aaron shakes his head. “we just happened to be in the same spot and then we started talking. he’s really cool, you just have to give him a chance.”

 

“but he’s just -- so… so,” dongho fumbles around for a word, too many negative ones crowding his headspace for him to pick from. “-- _anal_ about things.” a specific kind of heat swells in his solar plexus, knitting his eyebrows together. “like, all he ever does is nitpick my project and tell everyone how to do their work and put them out of their jobs.”

 

“he’s just doing his job,” aaron turns away from the mirror to face dongho, giving him a look that said ‘you’re being unreasonable’ that dongho definitely does _not_ appreciate. “and he’s not exactly wrong, you know. half the department is too busy lounging around on their asses to really put in any valuable work into running things around here. it makes complete sense for him to do what he has to do.”

 

“i _know_ that,” dongho’s irritation creeps up even further into his throat, and yet, he has little to say in reply that wouldn’t make him sound like a completely petulant child. the truth, as much as it hurts, is that the department, and the local government as a whole, is going bankrupt. at the end of the day, minhyun’s only here to help. even if his help hurts a lot of the co-workers dongho has grown to love through the years by putting them out of jobs; even if dongho is forced to put his park-building project on hold until the financial crisis stabilises.

 

“hey, i know the project is important to you,” aaron steps closer and places a hand to squeeze on dongho’s shoulder in consolation. “but it’s what we have to do for now. and you’ll get another shot at it. you’ve already come this far.”

 

“mm,” dongho lets aaron pull him into a hug. it’s not the best place to share a moment of sentimentality -- dongho thinks they _really_ should invest in some air fresheners in the bathroom -- but he readily accepts the offer of comfort anyway.

 

as they exit the bathroom and go back to the dozens of tiresome paperwork to sift through (all in a day’s work as a government employee), dongho coerces aaron to tell him about his last date with minki, and the story behind the scratch on aaron’s chin, and feels a little bit better.

  
  
  


“knock, knock.”

 

dongho takes a while to look up from a complaint filed by a karen harris about some school children vandalising the amenities near her house, but a very familiar smell prompts him to tear his eyes away from the paper. his eyebrows raise up to his hairline in surprise at seeing who’s leaning against the doorframe.

 

“hey,” minhyun offers him a small smile, “working late again, i see.” he’s holding two plastic bags filled with food -- dongho’s stomach grumbles, which makes him come to the conclusion that _that’s_ why he hasn’t been able to register anything he’s been reading for the past half hour. _sorry, karen harris_ , dongho shoves aside the papers on his desk, _you’ll have to take a backseat to soy garlic chicken this time._

 

as much as he’d like to eat, though, dongho’s still eyeing minhyun with some apprehension. “yes…” he replies, the undertone essentially asking, _what do you want now?_ in a way that signals his exasperation. maybe it’s the exhaustion of a long day at work settling in. maybe it’s just minhyun’s presence that has a tendency to grate on his nerves, just a little bit.

 

minhyun seems to understand the message conveyed in his one-syllable response. he looks a bit sheepish as he holds the two bags up. “i just figured i could get you some dinner. a peace offering, of sorts, because i know we hadn’t exactly… gotten off on the right foot.” he continues to stand in the doorway, as if waiting for dongho’s permission to enter.

 

it’s dongho’s turn to be embarrassed now. did aaron talk to minhyun about their conversation in the bathroom earlier this week? he hadn’t exactly been discreet about his dislike towards minhyun, sure, but this gesture seems a little too far from being coincidental. “yeah, sure. come in, i guess.” he scratches the back of his head, trying not to dwell upon it.

 

minhyun puts the two bags onto the desk, helping dongho clear away the stray objects in the way. they work in silence before sitting and opening up the boxes of food, the smell of spicy drumettes and soy garlic chicken wings wafting around the room. even as dongho takes his first bite, he’s finding it difficult to relish the taste, a bit too distracted by the strained awkwardness between him and minhyun.

 

“so i’ve been told madam jwa’s has the best chicken in town,” minhyun breaks the silence, as dongho’s working his way through his second drumette. he’s chewing on one himself, looking thoughtful.

 

“and what’s your verdict?” dongho asks through a mouthful. not that it matters, really -- madam jwa’s will always have a special place in his heart, regardless of minhyun’s opinion on it.

 

“i mean, i can see why,” minhyun reaches for a tissue to wipe the corner of his mouth that’s stained with sauce, “or _taste_ why, rather. it’s pretty difficult to get chicken anywhere this good back in my hometown.”

 

that prompts a smile on dongho’s face as he swallows the last bit of his piece. “it’s difficult to emulate the jwa recipe practically anywhere. there’s some kind of secret ingredient she uses that she swears to never let anyone know. i once had a part-time job at her restaurant in the summer year of senior year and not even all my grovelling could persuade her to let me in on it. she says it’s because it’s made with love, which, like, i guess -- fair, but of course there’s something that’s gotta be in it that’s not in any chicken in other places i’ve been. but that’s what makes it special, you know?”

 

dongho is suddenly all-too aware of the fact that he’s been rambling -- this is probably the most words he’d ever really spoken to minhyun that’s not some form of aggressive retort typically heard in meeting rooms for as long as minhyun’s been around. he notices the slightly amused smile on minhyun’s face at the end of his soliloquy, and flushes pink. he clears his throat. “where _are_ you from, anyway?”

 

“some other town as small as this one, though obviously not filled with people who are this passionate about chicken,” minhyun’s tone indicates that he’s teasing, but it goes serious again after. “or about anything, really. i left as soon as i could.”

 

“you don’t miss it?”

 

“no,” minhyun says, simply. “i mean, my family moved, too, a little bit after i did, so there’s nothing left for me there.”

 

dongho considers this, leaning back in his seat and looking over the now empty boxes on the desk. he can’t imagine not having some kind of emotional attachment towards his town -- it’s where he grew up, with equally fond and sour memories he wouldn’t trade out for anything in the world. it’s where everyone he’s ever known resides, from the grumpy crossing guard near his alma mater to his best childhood friend, kim jonghyun. it’s his home. a home he’s continually trying to improve as a public servant, no matter the odds thrown at him.

 

“listen,” minhyun leans forward slightly,  “i’m sorry if i came off as a total dick these past few weeks. not gonna lie, i kind of approached this whole thing thinking that it’d be okay to just axe down a few people out of their jobs because no one seemed to care anyway, the same way i obviously didn’t about my own town, but… i guess i was wrong. because i can tell that _you_ care. a lot. so, i’m sorry.”

 

well, this is unexpected, to say the least. dongho blinks, not sure how to respond. “did… did aaron say anything to you, or…?”

 

“what? no. i just…” minhyun taps a few fingers on the desk, then promptly stops. “i just noticed how fired up you get during our budget task force meetings. how you’re so quick to defend everyone else. how _stubborn_ ,” he huffs out a laugh, “you are about putting your park project on hold. how hard you’re making it is for me to stay objective and just do my freaking job. and to be honest, i admire that about you. the passion you obviously have for this town, amongst other things.”

 

it takes a while for dongho to find the right things to say. “well, i guess…” he starts off, slow, “i’m sorry, too. you know, for being so difficult about letting go of the project even if i know it’s what’s best in the long run. and being kind of... _aggressive_ about it. i know you’re just doing your job.”

 

minhyun nods. “i guess we’ve both been kind of dick-ish to each other about things.”

 

“yeah.” dongho pauses. “by the way, i didn’t actually say anything about you to aaron. so don’t ask him about it.”

 

“oh, really?” minhyun raises an eyebrow at him. “i did hear something from minki, though.”

 

 _oh no_. dongho cringes. “definitely didn’t say anything to minki. nope.”

 

“no? not even that you thought i was,” minhyun’s wearing a smug smile on his face, holding up air quotes as he speaks, “‘annoyingly, stupidly handsome’?”

 

groaning, dongho covers his face with his hands. “choi minki, i will _kill_ you.”

 

“please don’t,” minhyun laughs. “it’s been the only thing keeping me afloat this entire week after the hurl of insults my way at the meeting on monday.” he stands up, starting to clear the boxes on dongho’s desk. “come on, i think it’s time both of us head home.”

 

through his fingers, dongho watches minhyun sort the boxes into the plastic bags and rearrange the items cast aside on the desk in the annoying, systematic way dongho’s seen him do at his own desk. then, briefly, he thinks, _hwang minhyun, you’re not so bad after all_.

  
  
  


it only took nine years in the making, but it’s here, at long last.

 

the empty lot, once a seemingly bottomless pit at the back of minki’s house (now also aaron’s house), is now the site of dongho’s dream park. it’d started with the foundation of pavements and plantation of grass, then trees and a playground and of course, a big, cement bowl for the aspiring young skateboarders in the town.

 

one of them being dongho himself, obviously.

 

“you sure you don’t want to practice on flat ground first?” minhyun asks, as dongho clips on his helmet and fastens his elbow and knee pads. “i think it’d be safer --”

 

“i’ll be fine,” dongho reassures him, smiling. (jonghyun shakes his head and mouths, ‘ _absolutely not_ ’ over dongho’s shoulder at minhyun.) “it’s so sweet that you’re concerned about me, but i’m good. i’ve been preparing for this practically all my life.”

 

“if you’re sure,” minhyun reluctantly steps back, just after readjusting the helmet on dongho’s head. “i just don’t want you to die so young. we haven’t even crossed five items off of our bucket list as a couple. and you _know_ i’ve been looking forward to number six.”

 

“get a room!” aaron hollers from the bench, where he has his dogs, noah and kkotsoonie, at his feet and minki in the crook of his arm.

 

“it’s not what you think, okay! number six is getting on the transformers’ ride at universal studios,” minhyun clarifies quickly, but aaron’s hardly listening anymore, too preoccupied with dealing with the little mess noah’s left in his wake.

 

“here i go!” dongho’s standing at the edge of the bowl, waving at the rest of them.

 

the next few moments are disastrous, evidenced by dongho being carted off to the hospital and ending up with a few stitches at the end of the day. even through the pain, his chest blooms with a sense of accomplishment, and with minhyun fussing over him the way he does when they’re back at home, he decides he’s never been happier.


End file.
